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Haiti to ban public support for LGBTIQ rights, criminalise same-sex marriage

Haiti鈥檚 Senate has passed a bill that makes same sex marriage a crime and bans public displays of support for LGBTI rights. The bill 鈥 which would affect Haitian nationals and foreigners 鈥 will now go to the Chamber of Deputies, although a date for a vote has not been set.

Haitian law already defines marriage as being between a man and woman. But this bill seeks to expressly criminalise same sex marriage, with 鈥減arties, co-parties, and accomplices鈥 to a same-sex marriage聽 鈥 meaning even those who simply attend 鈥 facing potential jail terms of up to three years and an $8000 fine.

Speaking the unspeakable: Australia鈥檚 rape problem

In Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence 鈥 from domestic abuse to political terror, psychiatrist and trauma specialist Judith Herman wrote: 鈥淭he ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness. Certain violations of the social compact are too terrible to utter aloud: this is the meaning of the word unspeakable.鈥

People on the streets will win marriage equality

In the past fortnight, many of us thought we were right on the edge of FINALLY winning marriage equality in Australia as dissent within the ranks of Malcolm Turnbull鈥檚 Coalition government came to a head.

Liberal MP Dean Smith and others put up the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill and called for a free vote. Even Turnbull, a self-declared supporter of marriage equality even as he called for a plebiscite, said he supported the right of Liberal MPs to cross the floor to vote for the bill.

Re-nationalise the Commonwealth Bank now!

The case for re-nationalising the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is becoming stronger every day. The latest in a string of scandals to hit "Australia's leading bank" is the revelation the CBA is facing allegations that its Intelligent Deposit Machines (IDMs) were used by money launderers and criminal gangs to process millions of dollars in cash.

Aboriginal resistance and the 1967 referendum

Two very different exhibitions communicate critical evidence about the Aboriginal experience of the 1967 referendum, through which the Australian constitution was amended to remove the racist provisions of 91自拍论坛 51 and 127.

That victory certainly did not end racism in Australia, but opened up the possibility of a broader, unfinished struggle.

Is the Murray-Darling Basin Plan broken?

A recent expose by the has alleged significant illegal extraction of water from the Barwon-Darling river system, one of the major tributaries of the Murray River.

John Pilger: The beckoning of nuclear war

The United States submarine captain says: 鈥淲e鈥檝e all got to die one day, some sooner and some later. The trouble always has been that you鈥檙e never ready, because you don鈥檛 know when it鈥檚 coming.

鈥淲ell, now we do know and there鈥檚 nothing to be done about it.鈥

He says he will be dead by September. It will take about a week to die, though no one can be sure. Animals live the longest.

The war was over in a month

Corporate 鈥榝ake art鈥 profiting off Aboriginal art

Walking into any souvenir shop in Australia, tourists see the walls lined with Aboriginal designs and artwork. What is less obvious is the fact that most of these items are mass produced in parts of Asia.

Banduk Marika, a Youngu artist, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not making those. Indigenous people, even Australians, we鈥檙e not making those. Who is making this?鈥

Aboriginal communities say the answer is corporations.

Venezuela: Corbyn calls for dialogue not violence

Britain Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, has said he is saddened by the violence and loss of life in Venezuela, 鈥渆ither of those on the streets or of the security forces who have been attacked by those on the streets鈥.

鈥淰iolence is not going to solve the issues,鈥 Corbyn told the media, at the end of a local party meeting in the southern English town of Crawley. He said there has to be dialogue and a process that respects Venezuela's institutions, including the independence of the judiciary.

Hamed is only the first to die: bring the refugees here

Hamed Shamshiripour, a 31 year old Iranian refugee, died on August 7 as a direct result of Australia鈥檚 detention system. He is the sixth man to die on Manus Island since the detention centre was opened in 2012, according to Monash University鈥檚 .

Chavismo鈥檚 hidden victory: a new twist in Latin America鈥檚 Pink Tide

In January last year, Henry Ramos Allup, president of the then newly-installed Venezuelan parliament, hastened to make a demonstration of institutional power. The opposition bloc had obtained a strong victory in the 2015 legislative elections and the veteran political leader of Democratic Action (AD) was probably thinking that Venezuela would soon follow Argentina鈥檚 suit and do away with its leftist government.

Councils must do more to address housing crisis

Last week was Homelessness Week. It was also the week when the 76 homeless people sleeping in Martin Place were removed聽by the NSW Coalition government.

Sydney City Council has, at least, defended the 鈥渢ent city鈥 and taken a more pro-active role in trying to find solutions, compared with the NSW government which simply wants to wash its hands of this enormous problem.